harvard phd journalism

Students enrolled in the Master of Liberal Arts program in Journalism will gain the writing and reporting skills necessary for success as a journalist in the digital age.

Harvard Extension Courses in Journalism

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JOUR E-50 Section 1 (26271)

Spring 2023

Basic Journalism in the Digital Age

June Carolyn Erlick MSJ, Publications Director, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, and Editor-in-Chief, ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America, Harvard University

This course equips students with an understanding of the principles and practices of journalism: how to recognize good stories, gather facts through skillful interviewing and research, develop sources, craft welcoming leads and satisfying endings, and create news and feature articles that inform and engage readers. The course emphasizes the time-honored skills of reporting and writing, which provide the foundation of journalism in any age, and which are of particular value in an era when journalism's ability to uncover and convey the truth is under assault. Prerequisites: A college-level writing course.

JOUR E-100 Section 1 (26477)

Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Studies in Journalism

Sallie Martin Sharp PhD, Editor and Journalist

This graduate proseminar introduces students to the fundamentals and practices of journalism at the graduate level research, interviewing, reporting, and writing by exposing them to a variety of reporting assignments. Students learn how to construct a lead as well as how to structure a story. They experience the difference between a feature story and a news story by having to write them both. Prerequisites: A satisfactory score on the mandatory test of critical reading and writing skills or a B or higher grade in the alternate expository writing course.

JOUR E-100 Section 1 (15913)

Hannah Rosefield AM, MA, Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University

JOUR E-105 Section 1 (26005)

Essentials of Editing

Christina Thompson PhD, Editor, Harvard Review, Harvard College Library - Laura Healy MA, Editor and Literary Translator

This course offers an overview of editing theory and practice for journalists and others in writing professions. Topics to be covered include line editing, copyediting, common syntactic and grammatical pitfalls, word choice, paragraph structure, clarity, and concision. The emphasis is on learning to identify and correct errors that commonly appear in professional writing. Students may not receive degree credit for this course if they have previously completed EXPO E-160 or EXPO E-170.

JOUR E-110 Section 1 (22424)

The Constitution and the Media

Allan A. Ryan JD, Director of Intellectual Property, Harvard Business School Publishing

This course examines the concept of freedom of the press the basis for it and the restrictions on it in the United States. We begin by examining the concept of free speech and free press as used in the First Amendment of the US Constitution and trace its historical development to the present. We discuss the ways the Supreme Court has addressed three contentious press issues: the conflict between disclosure and national security (for example, the Pentagon Papers case); the defamation of public figures in news reporting (New York Times Co. v. Sullivan); and reporters' shield laws and the limits of the journalist's privilege to keep sources confidential. We also examine the constitutional basis for governmental regulation of broadcast content, and the interplay (or tension) between cyberspace and freedom of the press (for example, the 2011 Wikileaks controversy).

JOUR E-136 Section 1 (26474)

January 2023

First-Person Journalism

Martha Nichols MA, Founder and Publisher, Talking Writing Magazine

First-person journalism is an exciting genre that combines a personal perspective with solid research and observations of the larger world. This intensive January session course emphasizes both long and short formats from topical features to investigative reports to book-length works of first-person journalism. It underscores the difference between journalism and creative nonfiction, and the way those two genres often merge. Students do a lot of writing and get practice pitching ideas to editors. For a final project, students have the option of producing several short pieces or one long work of first-person journalism. Prerequisites: Experience with journalism and other forms of nonfiction writing is helpful but not required.

JOUR E-137 Section 1 (16160)

Feature Writing

Matthew T. Teague Contributing Writer, The Atlantic Magazine and National Geographic Magazine - Patricia M. Bellanca PhD, Head Preceptor in Expository Writing, Harvard University

This course teaches the craft of feature writing, focusing on the development of human-interest reporting techniques that lead to stories that sing with rich detail and narrative style. Compelling stories introduce a conflict that finds resolution. They answer complicated questions through immersion into a subject that deserves time and careful attention. Descriptive scenes, intriguing characters, and active language move the story forward. Students complete weekly assignments that include short, postcard-style dispatches and magazine-length features. Readings include features from writers who invented and continue to shape the form, from Ida B. Wells to Joan Didion, Tom Wolfe to Tom Junod, and David Foster Wallace to Pam Colloff. Prerequisites: An introductory journalism course, some journalism experience, or permission of the instructor.

JOUR E-137 Section 1 (26490)

Kim Cross MA, Author

Feature writing combines the literary craft of fiction with the fact-gathering skills of the journalist, historian, and documentary filmmaker. The best feature stories are both timely and timeless, using a narrative as a vehicle to touch upon something expansive, some universal truth or subtle meaning. Feature stories can take many forms, but in this course we focus on two: a reported personal essay and a third-person narrative. Both stories range from 2,000 to 4,000 words, and a sequence of weekly writing exercises (ungraded but required) build up to both. Students learn the publishing process from pitch to publication, with emphasis on immersion reporting, interviewing, story structure, editing, and fact-checking. Students also learn organizational techniques essential for stories with many sources and tools that enable them to reconstruct scenes they are not able to witness as a writer. The end goal of this course is to complete and polish two feature stories to submit to a target publication. Prerequisites: An introductory journalism course, some journalism experience, or permission of the instructor.

JOUR E-139 Section 1 (16792)

Community Journalism

Matthew Hay Brown MS, Americas Editor, The Washington Post

This course focuses on covering the news that is often of the most interest and greatest consequence to readers: events, developments, and challenges in the places where they live. We operate in the manner of a newsroom: students, working in their own communities, report and write on local government, schools, business, crime, culture, people, and life. Then, as a class, we critique the work. We discuss the enduring role of community journalism in a changing media landscape, study exemplary pieces, and meet with working journalists. Students get practical guidance on developing story targets, identifying outlets, and pitching for professional publication.

JOUR E-140a Section 1 (15467)

News Reporting and Writing

Ana L. Campoy Thompson MA, Deputy Editor, Global Finance and Economics, Quartz

In this changing media landscape, a journalist has no choice but to become a jack of all trades and to develop capabilities to be able to work on various media platforms. This fast-paced course teaches students to master the fundamentals of news writing and reporting for a variety of media. Students learn to think, observe, and ask questions like career journalists while developing the skills needed to shift seamlessly from writing for traditional news publications to updating web sites or tweeting. The course stresses accuracy and fact-checking as well as the importance of reporting a balanced story. Prerequisites: Basic journalism course or the equivalent.

JOUR E-140c Section 1 (26460)

Race, Media, and News Writing

Austin B. Bogues BA, Commentary Editor, USA Today

This course examines the role race plays in current events and news writing. Students read a variety of opinion and news reporting pieces, and develop multiple original reporting pieces involving issues of race, race relations, and demographics in the United States. The course also brings in guest speakers to discuss reporting on race. Prerequisites: An introductory journalism course, some journalism experience, or permission of the instructor. Students need to have standard reporter gear including smartphones, laptops, notebooks, and pens or other camera gear in order to produce multimedia pieces.

JOUR E-142a Section 1 (16803)

The Art and Craft of Interviewing

Al Powell ALM, Senior Science Writer, Harvard Gazette

This course on interviewing is intended to help beginning journalists, bloggers, social media professionals, and public relations professionals conceive, set up, and execute interviews that provide the foundation for an engaging and informative article, blog post, podcast, or video feature. The course includes a review of effective interviews, such as Katie Couric's 2008 interview with then-vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, which altered how Palin was viewed by the public, and the work of famed radio journalist Studs Terkel, whose ability to extract and portray ordinary people's stories led to his being awarded the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. The course covers interview preparation, source selection, conduct of the interview itself, and how to make the highest and best use of the material that sources provide. We also discuss what can go wrong in an interview, how to ask hard questions, when to go off the record, and the ins and outs of difficult interviews. The course expands upon our examination of classic examples with a discussion of interview techniques, exercises to gain effectiveness, and real-world reporting experiences, from which students produce print, audio, or video stories. Prerequisites: A college-level writing course.

JOUR E-155 Section 1 (26411)

Magazine Writing

Magazine writing is the home of good storytelling and in-depth feature writing, even as digital media has blurred the lines between news and magazine sites. In this course, students try out different magazine styles and voices, exploring a range of channels (including health and lifestyle, politics, business, and science), with some multimedia options. We delve into the nuts-and-bolts of pitching and publishing magazine articles as a freelancer as well as the many ethical conundrums that have popped up in recent years. Throughout, we return to the question of what it means to be a trustworthy and engaging magazine writer in the digital age. Prerequisites: An introductory journalism course, journalism experience, or permission of the instructor.

JOUR E-161 Section 1 (16866)

Robert E. Frederick MS, Digital Managing Editor, American Scientist

The podcasting world includes millions of episodes in over 100 languages. Regularly, news shows top the podcast charts, with journalists talking about their own reported stories. Those journalists who have the skills to tell their stories in a podcasting format are more likely to get greater exposure for their work. In this course, students gain those skills, including interviewing for audio, writing and editing for the ear, and producing podcasts in their entirety. Smaller assignments over the semester scaffold together so the student is prepared to construct a 15-minute podcast of their own by the end of the term. For the first class meeting students should come prepared with a list of three podcast episodes that they enjoy from storytelling podcasts (for example, The Daily, 99% Invisible, or Endless Thread). Prerequisites: A basic journalism course. The course requires a smartphone, headphones, and access to a basic Mac/Windows computer.

JOUR E-161 Section 1 (26489)

Iris Adler MA, Audio Journalist and Podcast Consultant

There are more than two million podcasts currently available, and the number of podcasts and the audience for them is growing. It has become essential for journalists to gain the skills necessary to create compelling on-demand content on this platform. In this course, students choose a journalistic topic they would like to explore in a podcast, and they gain the necessary skills to produce it: reporting, audio storytelling, scripting, interviewing, and basic audio production and design. We develop these skills through practice, collaboration, and feedback as well as by listening to and analyzing state-of-the art podcasts, such as S-Town from This American Life and Malcom Gladwell's Revisionist History. Short skill-building assignments culminate in a podcast episode on the topic of the student's choice. During our final class meetings, we explore possibilities for bringing our podcasts to the public. Prerequisites: Basic journalism course.

JOUR E-162 Section 1 (16819)

Reporting on Climate Change

Reporters familiar with how climate change affects our lives have a powerful lens to discover important stories at the local, national, and international level. Through a sequence of assignments, students in this course gain practical reporting experience both on climate change's effects (such as coastal flooding, hurricanes, drought, heat waves, cold snaps, and wildfire) and on societal responses (such as agricultural production, civil engineering, environmental justice, and governmental policy). Students also gain an appreciation for the complexity of climate science itself so as to be able to cover the science responsibly. Increasingly, media outlets are adding climate change beats. This course is designed to help students, science communication professionals, and working journalists deepen their understanding of climate change as well as improve their capacity to tell the important stories that climate change prompts. Prerequisites: An introductory journalism course, some journalism experience, or permission of the instructor. Prior education in a scientific discipline, although helpful, is not required.

JOUR E-174 Section 1 (16775)

The Art of the Book Review

Maggie Doherty PhD, Biographer and Critic

Many aspiring writers get their first byline by writing a book review. Many successful writers continue to write book reviews throughout their careers. This course prepares students to excel at this genre of writing with the goal of having a book review pitch accepted for publication by the end of the course. We discuss the different types of book reviews, from the evaluative review to the round-up review to the review-essay. Students learn how to pitch a book review, how to read a book for the purposes of reviewing it, and how to conduct the outside research necessary for writing a strong review. Course readings include book reviews from a range of publications the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and the London Review of Books, among others to show the different approaches to book reviewing. Guest speakers provide students with insight into how to launch a career as a reviewer and how to use book reviews to develop other writing projects.

JOUR E-175 Section 1 (16673)

Photojournalism

Samantha K. Appleton BA, Freelance Photojournalist

This course is an introduction to photojournalism for students and professionals. Through weekly photo assignments and critiques, students learn to look critically at images, make photographs that are both creative and rich in content, and produce a body of work through the editing and sequencing of images. The course touches on the historic role of photography through the essential work of photographers like Dorothea Lange, Yoichi Okamoto, and James Nachtwey, but focuses on the process of creating a lasting photograph. By the end of the course, students have a portfolio of images and basic strategies for working in the industry. Prerequisites: A basic understanding of photography. This course spends only a small amount of time on technical issues.

JOUR E-186 Section 1 (26429)

Reviewing the Performing Arts

Sarah L. Kaufman MSJ, Chief Dance Critic and Senior Arts Writer, The Washington Post

This workshop course offers practical guidance for journalists who wish to write about the performing arts: drama, music, and dance. We read and analyze works by such critics and essayists as A.O. Scott, Emily Nussbaum, Peter Marks, Zadie Smith, Frank Rich, and Angelica Jade Basti n. Students write film (and other) reviews, opinion pieces, and critical essays while learning to develop their skills in perception, analytical thinking, organization, and persuasiveness. We hear from guest artists and writers, watch recorded performances, and read arts criticism published by a wide range of critics in a variety of media, both legacy and new. Students learn to develop their own distinctive voices while tapping into their critical faculties to analyze the arts in new and convincing ways. Although this is a course for journalists, it is useful for students with an interest in performance or in dramatic writing because it provides them with a new understanding of the view from the other side of the stage and screen.

JOUR E-599 Section 1 (13272)

Journalism Capstone Project

The capstone is the culmination of the student's work in the Master of Liberal Arts, journalism program and consists of a series of substantial stories completed in one semester. The capstone generally consists of three to five related pieces, text or multi-media based, in different styles. Text-based projects are generally about 5,000 words; the parameters of projects in other media are determined by the student and the project director together, and are based on the requirements of the story. Past capstone directors have included Boston Globe editors and reporters, former fellows from the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, and other professionals in the field. Prerequisites: Registration is limited to officially admitted candidates in the Master of Liberal Arts, journalism. Prospective degree candidates and students with pending admission applications are not eligible. Candidates must be in good academic standing with a minimum of 36 degree-applicable credits completed with required grades. In addition, candidates must submit capstone proposals by June 1. Candidates who do not meet these degree requirements or do not have their capstone proposals approved by the deadline are dropped from the course. See the journalism capstone website for proposal details and approval deadlines.

JOUR E-599 Section 1 (23092)

The capstone is the culmination of the student's work in the Master of Liberal Arts, journalism program and consists of a series of substantial stories completed in one semester. The capstone generally consists of three to five related pieces, text or multi-media based, in different styles. Text-based projects are generally about 5,000 words; the parameters of projects in other media are determined by the student and the project director together, and are based on the requirements of the story. Past capstone directors have included Boston Globe editors and reporters, former fellows from the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, and other professionals in the field. Prerequisites: Registration is limited to officially admitted candidates in the Master of Liberal Arts, journalism. Prospective degree candidates and students with pending admission applications are not eligible. Candidates must be in good academic standing with a minimum of 36 degree-applicable credits completed with required grades. In addition, candidates must submit capstone proposals by October 1. Candidates who do not meet these degree requirements or do not have their capstone proposals approved by the deadline are dropped from the course. See the journalism capstone website for proposal details and approval deadlines.

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New technology and the internet are creating innovative ways to conduct and present research for students and scholars alike. Through sound, images, and video, researchers, in our department explore new ways to analyse the stories of humankind. The department offers a popular secondary PhD field in Critical Media Practice.

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Journalism Courses

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Comparative Literature

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Harvard’s Department of Comparative Literature is one of the most dynamic and diverse in the country. Its impressive faculty has included such scholars as Harry Levine, Claudio Guillén, and Barbara Johnson. You will study literatures from a wide range of historical periods and cultures while learning to conduct cutting-edge research through an exhilarating scope of methods and approaches.

Your dissertation research is well supported by Harvard’s unparalleled library system, the largest university collection in the world, comprising 70 libraries with combined holdings of over 16 million items.

Recent student dissertations include “Imagined Mothers: The Construction of Italy, Ancient Greece, and Anglo-American Hegemony,” “The Untimely Avant-Garde: Literature, Politics and Transculturation in the Sinosphere (1909-2020),” and “Artificial Humanities: A Literary Perspective on Creating and Enhancing Humans from Pygmalion to Cyborgs.”

In addition to securing faculty positions at academic institutions such as Princeton University, Emory University, and Tufts University, graduates have gone on to careers in contiguous fields including the visual arts, music, anthropology, philosophy, and medicine.  Others have chosen alternative careers in film production, administration, journalism, and law.

 Additional information on the graduate program is available from the Department of Comparative Literature and requirements for the degree are detailed in Policies .

Admissions Requirements

Please review admissions requirements and other information before applying. You can find degree program-specific admissions requirements below and access additional guidance on applying from the Department of Comparative Literature .

Writing Sample

The writing sample is supposed to demonstrate your ability to engage in literary criticism and/or theory. It can be a paper written for a course or a section of a senior thesis or essay. It is usually between 10 and 20 pages. Do not send longer papers with instructions to read an excerpt; you should edit the sample so that it is not more than 20 pages. Writing samples should be in English, although candidates are permitted to submit an additional writing sample written in a different language.

Statement of Purpose

The statement of purpose should give the admissions committee a clear sense of your individual interests and strengths. Applicants are not required to indicate a precise field of specialization, but it is helpful to tell us about your aspirations and how the Department of Comparative Literature might help in attaining these goals. The statement of purpose should be one to four pages in length.

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GRE General: Not Accepted

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Theses & Dissertations for Comparative Literature

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Learn how to apply critical thinking to real-world scenarios in the life sciences while exploring cutting-edge research and theory.

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Optimize organizations and empower employees through a social science lens.

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Explore the complexities of foreign affairs and gain a global perspective.

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Gain the writing and reporting skills necessary for success as a journalist in the digital age.

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In light of political and cultural upheaval at home and abroad, much of which is shaped by complex religious dimensions, there is a greater need than ever for religious literacy in journalism. Religion shapes the stories journalists tell across a range of beats—from local to global politics to coverage of climate collapse and economic unrest—often in subtle ways that are not visible at first glance. By partnering with professional journalists and journalism students, we provide resources and training to facilitate deeper consideration of the ways in which to cover religious dimensions of news stories that reflect their complexity and advance deeper public understanding of the issues and contexts covered.  

Additional Reading and Resources

Reading lists and more resources for journalists seeking to understand how religion shapes the world and their careers.

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Announcement for december 2023 graduates:, declare intent to concentrate, the field of health communication.

Health communication is the study of how health information is generated and disseminated and how that information affects individuals, community groups, institutions and public policy. The field includes the study of secular communication, as well as the strategic communication of evidence-based health information to professional and non-professional audiences.

As the demand for formal training in communication increases, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has responded by establishing the Health Communication Concentration (HCC). This new concentration recognizes the need for formal and systematized training of students in health communication and provides a systematic, rigorous and conceptually grounded training for public health leaders, practitioners, and researchers.

Why Study Health Communication?

Every day we receive communications at home, work, or school. They come through various channels – from friends, family, co-workers, the Internet and the mass media–and carry a variety of messages. We pay selective attention to the communications we receive, and we seek information that is relevant to our needs. In such a crowded environment, health communications face serious competition.

Public health professionals need to be able to identify the contexts, channels, messages and reasons that will motivate individuals to heed and use health information – whether designing health communication programs for vulnerable populations, framing a health policy issue for legislators, or educating patients on medications.

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Journalist’s Trade

June 15, 2003.

Learning To Be a Medical Journalist

‘if you already are a skilled reporter and writer, the transition to medical journalism should be relatively easy.’, thomas linden, tagged with.

T alk to 10 medical journalists and you’ll find 10 different career paths. Common to most medical reporters is a love for writing and a deep interest in medicine and science. But how does someone prepare for a career in this field, a hybrid of science and art?

It’s really the same problem that the late and great physician essayist Lewis Thomas wrote about in 1978 for The New England Journal of Medicine. Only then Thomas was talking about pre-medical students. As he noted in his essay, “How to Fix the Premedical Curriculum,” the problem with many pre-medical students (and, dare I say, many doctors) is that they don’t study enough literature, language and history. Thomas’s proposal was to study classical Greek as “the centerpiece of undergraduate education …. The capacity to read Homer’s language closely enough to sense the terrifying poetry in some of the lines could serve as a shrewd test for the qualities of mind and character needed in a physician.”

Now I’m not proposing that aspiring medical journalists study Homer, although a little poetry can go a long way in a story. The theme here is that the best way to prepare for a career in medical journalism (as Thomas proposed for medicine) is to gain an appreciation for the poetry of language. So if you are a college student and want to be a medical journalist, take courses in the humanities (English, literature, foreign languages, history) as well as basic science courses in biology, chemistry, genetics and physics. The best preparation to be a journalist—any kind of journalist—is to read voraciously and write prolifically. Subscribe to at least one newspaper (in addition to the five you follow on the Web). Read a variety of magazines. If you don’t have a pile of reading material at your bedside, ask yourself if you really want to be a journalist. Oh yes, and read books. Books about medicine and science are good, but don’t limit yourself to that field. Finally, be sure you have an English and a medical dictionary (I prefer Stedman’s) handy at all times. Words are the clay you work with, so choose them carefully.

Beyond words lies knowledge. An understanding of medical science is what separates medical journalists from general assignment reporters. “At its best, journalism mediates between the worlds of expertise and general knowledge,” Lee C. Bollinger, president of Columbia University, wrote in his 2003 Journalism Task Force Statement. “To do that well—to write for the present and to weave in broader meaning—is remarkably difficult. A necessary element is substantive knowledge, the kind of knowledge you cannot just pick up in the course of doing a story.”

What Bollinger is saying—and I agree—is that to really own the medical beat, you need to know the subject matter. You don’t need to be a scientist or a doctor, but you do need to understand how scientists think and be able to translate their jargon and their ideas into simple English.

So let’s jump ahead. You’re already a journalist, maybe a general assignment reporter with an interest in medicine and science. Or a health care provider who feels your creative energies are stifled by the tedium of daily practice. In other words, you’re thinking about becoming a medical journalist.

The first question you might ask is whether to pursue post-graduate medical journalism training. The answer is, “It depends.” If you’re a general assignment reporter with no background in the sciences, then a master’s course of study in medical journalism might make sense. If you’re in the health care field with no prior journalistic experience, then you’ll need to learn how to write for the popular media. The advantage here lies with the journalist. If you already are a skilled reporter and writer, the transition to medical journalism should be relatively easy. Enrolling in a medical journalism program makes sense if you want to use the opportunity to deepen your background in health sciences and increase your knowledge of public health.

If you’re already in the health care field and want to retool, that’s a lot more difficult, especially if you’ve had limited writing or reporting experience. If you’re a doctor or nurse and fantasize about becoming the next Larry Altman or Atul Gawande, then start writing. Take a journalism course at your local community college or university. Submit articles to your local newspaper. Or apprentice yourself to a producer or reporter at your local television station. The bottom line is that if you’re a health care provider with little reporting experience then you must develop your journalistic skills. There’s no substitute for hours spent in the field gathering information, interviewing sources, and writing good copy.

Medical Journalism Programs

RELATED ARTICLE “Medical Journalism Training” For some individuals, matriculating at a graduate-level medical journalism program is the way to go. In our master’s program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, about half of the entering students have worked as a full-time newspaper reporter or freelance magazine writer for at least one or more years after college. A few students have entered without formal journalism education or reporting experience. About half of the students have majored in a science-related field. Interestingly, I have received several inquiries from physicians who want to either switch careers or pursue a combined career in medicine and medical journalism. So far, none has applied.

If you have some writing experience and decide to pursue a post-graduate program, what should you look for? First, make sure the people who will teach you have worked in the field. Second, talk to enrolled students and ask them what they’re learning. If they don’t mention “writing” in the first few sentences, then look elsewhere. As for the course curriculum, make sure you’ll have lots of writing practice with teachers who are willing and available to critique your work. Be sure courses train you to write for a variety of media including print, broadcast (television and radio), and the Web. Inquire whether the program offers courses in public health (including epidemiology) so you’ll know how to interpret and evaluate medical studies and put research findings in context. Check out the syllabi for the medical journalism courses offered. Make sure you’ll read some of the best writers in the field—Oliver Sacks, Lewis Thomas, Randy Shilts, Jon Franklin, and Laurie Garrett, to name just a few.

If you’re broadcast-oriented, make sure your program offers courses in print journalism. If you’re print-oriented, be sure to take a broadcast course. Some of my first-year master’s students in medical television reporting were sure they wanted to be print journalists until they produced their first medical television report. Then, some of them realized the power of the broadcast media to put a “face” on their medical stories. We’re all aware of the limitations of the 90-second television package replete with eight-second sound bites and simple story lines, but don’t underestimate the poetry of good television storytelling. You can have enormous impact. A survey conducted in 1997 by Roper Starch Worldwide, Inc. for the National Health Council and PBS’s “HealthWeek” showed that Americans rate television ahead of health professionals, magazines, journals and newspapers as their principal source for most medical information.

Lastly, ask yourself if you really want to embrace the life of a medical reporter. There will be hours spent analyzing generally poorly written medical journal articles. You will place repeated phone calls to health professionals who often don’t want to talk to you. There will be a lack of appreciation from newspaper editors and television news directors and not enough column inches or broadcast airtime to adequately tell your story. And the pay will be not at all commensurate with your skills or level of education.

If none of the above deters you, if you find science and medicine inherently fascinating, and if you write just for the joy of turning a good phrase, then medical journalism is for you.

Thomas Linden, M.D., is director of the Medical Journalism Program and Glaxo Wellcome Distinguished Professor of Medical Journalism at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Linden was the first health and science correspondent for CNBC, medical reporter for KRON-TV in San Francisco, medical editor of Fox 11 News in Los Angeles, and co-anchor of “Physicians’ Journal Update” on Lifetime Medical Television.

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• Media Anthropology

The Department of Anthropology's Social Anthropology program offers a Ph.D. in Anthropology, with a special emphasis on Media Anthropology.

Students are regular members of the graduate program in Social Anthropology, and all requirements for the Ph.D. in Anthropology pertain to those specializing in Media Anthropology. The Media Anthropology emphasis is designed for students who wish to undertake practice-based research and make substantial ethnographic use of audiovisual media in their doctoral work. In addition to selecting required and elective courses in anthropology, students join a group of faculty, graduate students, and visiting artists working in media anthropology. They participate in regular events in Media Anthropology, such as screenings and lectures by visiting artists and media anthropologists, and work-in-progress critique sessions. They take courses offered by the Anthropology faculty, as well as by faculty in other departments also offering courses in media and art practice. They may also participate in specialized research and creative activities with faculty and fellows, and may serve as teaching fellows in courses in Media Anthropology.

In addition to all regular requirements for the Ph.D. in Anthropology, including the dissertation, doctoral students specializing in Media Anthropology must also pursue a Secondary PhD field in  Critical Media Practice .   As part of this training, students produce an original creative work, or works, emerging from intensive ethnographic fieldwork, in an audiovisual medium or media such as film, digital video, CD-ROM, DVD, still photography, or phonography. For work in time-based media, this will normally result in a work of not less than 30 minutes’ duration. Students pursuing the PhD track in Anthropology with Media may submit either their “capstone” CMP project, or another work, or works, produced during their CMP training as their final project in Anthropology with Media.  This work is submitted and defended in conjunction with their written doctoral dissertation.  The work should be outlined in the student’s Research Plan Overview that is submitted for the General Exam and also developed in their Prospectus.  It must be supervised throughout by a qualified faculty member from within the department who will also serve on the candidate’s doctoral committee, and in that capacity be charged with evaluating the merits of the candidate’s media work.

The final media work that is submitted with the written dissertation must be accompanied by a Practitioner’s Statement of two to three pages outlining the intentions of the media work and its relationship to the written dissertation. Exhibitions, installations, and performances will also be considered for the Media Anthropology final project, so long as they incorporate a significant media component. In collaborative media projects, the Practitioner’s Statement must be accompanied by a further paragraph detailing the candidate’s role in the work. Collaborative media projects will only be considered when the student not only contributes ethnographic expertise, but also has a primary authorial role in the work.

The work, and the Practitioner’s Statement, must be formally submitted, exhibited, and defended in conjunction with the written dissertation. Students working in site-specific installations or performances must submit detailed documentation of the project. When all requirements have been fulfilled, the candidate will receive, in addition to the Harvard- awarded Ph.D., departmental recognition of degree completion, “with Media.”

Applicants interested in Media Anthropology should apply to the Social Anthropology Ph.D. program and follow the usual procedures for applications to the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Applicants should indicate an interest in Media Anthropology in the statement of purpose, and submit, whenever possible, a portfolio documenting previous media work, using the  Digital Portfolio  option on the Harvard Griffin GSAS application; please provide a statement and your role therein.

Students indicating their interest in Media Anthropology who are admitted into the doctoral program in Anthropology must apply for their admission into the Critical Media Practice Secondary PhD field after having successfully complete at least one core CMP course, usually in their second year of studies.  Students who are not admitted into the CMP program may not continue with the specialization in Anthropology with Media.

Anthropology Faculty Associated with the program:  

• Anya Bernstein
• Lucien Castaing-Taylor
• Steven Caton
• Nicholas Harkness
• Arthur Kleinman
• Ajantha Subramanian

Affiliates Associated with the program:

• Peter Galison, History of Science
• Ernst Karel,  Anthropology and AFVS
• Verena Paravel, AFVS
• Joana Pimenta, AFVS                                   
• Matt Saunders, AFVS
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• Master of Arts - Social Anthropology
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What journalists and independent creators can learn from each other

AUSTIN —  The International Symposium on Online Journalism is, by definition, a celebration of the craft of journalism. But this year there was also an overall examination of the role of the journalist writ large: As the media industry winds its way along the precarious cliffside of collapsing business models and eroding trust in journalism, panelists asked, again and again, whether the role of the journalist is — or ought to — change. Some suggested journalists drop the veneer of neutrality to engage more with readers where they are, taking on the role of community steward. Others suggested a move away from just reporting the news to a broader focus on information that affects readers’ day-to-day.

A panel on what social media influencers and journalists can learn from each other offered one other potential path of transformation. “I don’t think people care if I’m a journalist or a content creator,” said María Paulina Baena , a Colombian journalist and political scientist who co-founded La Pulla , a political satire channel on YouTube owned by the newspaper El Espectador. “Deep inside myself, I feel like a journalist, but the thing is that I create a lot of content too, and I’ve learned from both landscapes.”

One of the biggest differences between traditional journalism and social-first (often YouTube-first) work, the panelists said, is the degree to which creators have to put themselves into their work. When Sam Ellis , creator and showrunner of the YouTube channel Search Party , worked at Vox, he didn’t have to appear on camera — people trusted the Vox brand, and therefore didn’t need Ellis to establish his personal credentials. “But when you’re independent, people really do need a connection to you,” he said. So Ellis started putting himself into what he called the “edges” of videos, appearing on screen during the credits to make announcements and help viewers establish a personal connection with him.

That personal touch can be a double-edged sword: Baena said she faced more sexism and misogynistic attacks after starting her work at La Pulla, and she recently left to pursue other projects. “But I have no problem blocking people,” she continued. “At some point, I think people will get bored if you don’t answer them.”

Creating journalism for social media means also being beholden to the algorithms that govern each platform and their constant demand for new content. When Ellis worked at Vox, he’d spend four to six weeks on a video; as an independent creator, his production time is essentially halved. This means he has to think more carefully about his stories, finding a way to maintain the rigorous journalistic standards he set for himself while also keeping up with the publishing pace required to stay successful. When the war in Gaza broke out, for example, he chose to focus on how the conflict put Arab leaders in a bind instead of making a broad-ranging video about the underlying history.

Hugo Travers , founder of HugoDécrypte , a social-first news channel that dominates the 18- to 34-year-old market in France with 200 million monthly views on TikTok and 35 million on YouTube, has a “love-hate” relationship with the algorithm. “When I was 18 and starting the channel, I had no money to push ads,” Travers said. “The only way for my work to get discovered was the algorithm. And the algorithm helped a lot.”

The HugoDécrypte social media channels combined now have more followers — 14 million — than Le Monde, the French paper of record, and Travers runs a team of around 25 people. They’ve interviewed some of the biggest names in France, including French president Emmanuel Macron. But even then, they had trouble getting press cards from the agency that provides journalists with official credentials, because HugoDécrypte didn’t have a website of its own when its staff first applied for press cards. So Travers and his colleagues created a site that housed the transcripts of each video, presented that to the agency, and received their cards. They’re now able to cover breaking news and attend protests as other accredited French journalists can, and some of their work can often look similar to the news bulletins and roundtable discussions one might expect to find on a cable news channel. But their videos are tailor-made for social media, primarily YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

Over the course of building his channel to where it is now, Travers said, one thing became clear to him: the idea that young people are uninterested in “serious” news is false.

“The question is not about the topics but how you approach the topics,” he said. Younger audiences are interested in topics like geopolitics and international conflicts — just look at the protests over the conflict in Gaza, which is roiling universities — but, Travers said, creators and journalists alike have to make those topics accessible to their audiences.

“Journalists have always been content creators, they’re just bound by this common set of rules and procedures,” Ellis said. Going independent, he said, comes with its own set of challenges — a shifting algorithm, a quicker pace, more individual scrutiny from the audience — but that, he continued, “Is just a parameter for you to be more creative about the stories that you cover.”

Screenshot: Search Party on YouTube.

Cite this article Hide citations

Dhanesha, Neel. "What journalists and independent creators can learn from each other." Nieman Journalism Lab . Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, 23 Apr. 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024.

Dhanesha, N. (2024, Apr. 23). What journalists and independent creators can learn from each other. Nieman Journalism Lab . Retrieved April 23, 2024, from https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/04/what-journalists-and-independent-creators-can-learn-from-each-other/

Dhanesha, Neel. "What journalists and independent creators can learn from each other." Nieman Journalism Lab . Last modified April 23, 2024. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/04/what-journalists-and-independent-creators-can-learn-from-each-other/.

{{cite web     | url = https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/04/what-journalists-and-independent-creators-can-learn-from-each-other/     | title = What journalists and independent creators can learn from each other     | last = Dhanesha     | first = Neel     | work = [[Nieman Journalism Lab]]     | date = 23 April 2024     | accessdate = 23 April 2024     | ref = {{harvid|Dhanesha|2024}} }}

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The Nieman Journalism Lab is a collaborative attempt to figure out how quality journalism can survive and thrive in the Internet age.

It’s a project of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University .

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'Cradle-To-Career' Success and the 'Vaccine to Poverty'

• Posted April 23, 2024
• By Ryan Nagelhout
• Career and Lifelong Learning
• Education Reform
• Families and Community
• Inequality and Education Gaps
• Student Achievement and Outcomes

The final Askwith Education Forum of the 2023–24 academic year at Harvard Graduate School of Education served as a powerful call for action and hope in academic reform around the United States.

“Cradle-to-Career Pathways Supporting Social and Economic Mobility,” featured the leaders of organizations working to change educational systems to better provide pathways to equity, upward mobility, educational attainment, and civic engagement.

The evening featured “the best panel you could possibly dream of to talk about this,” according to Professor Paul Reville , who served as moderator of the discussion. Guests included Kwame Owusu-Kesse, CEO of Harlem Children’s Zone, a foundational cradle-to-career organization that’s become a nationwide model for the Federal Promise Neighborhoods program; Russell Booker, CEO of Spartanburg (SC) Academic Movement and an EdRedesign By All Means senior fellow ; Cecilia Gutierrez, managing director and portfolio lead for Blue Meridian Partners; and Sondra Samuels, president and CEO of Northside Achievement Zone in Minnesota. Reville introduced the group and presented data on the decline in intergenerational mobility and rise in inequitable opportunity in more recent generations of students.

“It’s time to reexamine the theory of the problem,” said Reville, whose EdRedesign Lab proposes “wraparound” support services for students including individualized education plans and embraces learning opportunities outside of the classroom.

The work of the Harlem Children’s Zone, founded by HGSE alum Geoffrey Canada, Ed.M.’79, came up often as an example of how the cradle-to-career model can succeed. The organization has found success and sparked a growing network of educators advocating for fundamental changes to the educational structure in vulnerable communities around the country.

“We have 20 years of evidence that this works. So now I say that we have the vaccine to poverty,” Owusu-Kesse, a Harvard alum, said on Thursday. “And we have the responsibility to codify these best practices and share them with the field. And also work in partnership with the field because we do not have a monopoly on excellence. And we need to learn from my colleagues and innovate and move this work forward.”

The panelists often reflected on the interconnectivity of their work, which puts forth a bold vision for reform and advocacy that leaders hope is moving more to the center of the conversation about educational reform across the United States.

“What we’re talking about is changing the very trajectory of our country when it comes to [our children]. And not because it is easy,” Samuels said, echoing a quote from President John F. Kennedy about the quest to set foot on the moon.

For Booker, the former CEO of Spartanburg’s school district who left that position to directly advocate for a cradle-to-career approach, the progress made in recent years has been noticeable.

“I’m just excited at this moment we’re in right now,” Booker said, noting the “ripple effect” he’s seen in other districts he’s interacted with in the role.

A brief question-and-answer session highlighted questions about fundraising and optimism about the future of cradle-to-career advocacy, as well as the Ed School and EdRedesign’s role in moving the work forward.

“I have a lot of hope that an institution of this caliber is focusing on the most promising work to create generational wealth and to love up on all kids, and that is happening here,” said Samuels. “It gives us a lot of cred on the street.”

You can watch the full Askwith event in the video above. 

Askwith Education Forum

Bringing innovators and influential leaders to the Harvard Graduate School of Education

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Journalism and the Politics of Narrating African Suffering

Expert Roundtable

j. Siguru Wahutu

An expert roundtable focused on the key themes of Prof. j. Siguru Wahutu’s upcoming book In the Shadow of the Global North: Journalism in Postcolonial Africa (Cambridge University Press, July 2024).  

Book Description (from Cambridge University Press):

In the Shadow of the Global North unpacks the historical, cultural, and institutional forces that organize and circulate journalistic narratives in Africa to show that something complex is unfolding in the postcolonial context of global journalistic landscapes, especially the relationships between cosmopolitan and national journalistic fields. Departing from the typical discourse about journalistic depictions of Africa, Prof. j. Siguru Wahutu focuses on the underexplored journalistic representations created by African journalists reporting on African countries. In assessing news narratives and the social context within which journalists construct these narratives, Prof. Wahutu captures not only the marginalization of African narratives by African journalists but opens up an important conversation about what it means to be an African journalist, an African news organization, and African in the postcolony.

About Professor j. Siguru Wahutu:

Prof. Wahutu is an expert in the sociology of media, with an emphasis on genocide, mass violence, and ethnicity in sub-Saharan Africa. He has written about global media patterns in covering genocide in Africa, ethnicity, land, and politics in Kenya, and on the Kenyan media's experimentation with social media platforms. Prof. Wahutu's research has appeared in African Journalism Studies, African Affairs, the International Journal of Press/Politics, Global Media and Communication, Media and Communication, Media, Culture, and Society, and Sociological Forum. He is an Assistant Professor at New York University's Department of Media, Culture, and Communication.

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As Dean Long’s Departure Looms, Harvard President Garber To Appoint Interim HGSE Dean

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Interim Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 said in an interview on Monday that he intends to announce an interim dean to lead the Harvard Graduate School of Education before a formal search process is launched.

“We expect to announce the appointment of an interim dean in the not too distant future,” Garber said.

Outgoing HGSE Dean Bridget Terry Long announced in January that she intended to step down from the role at the end of the academic year. Though the spring semester is nearly over, Garber indicated during the interview that the University has not formally begun searching for Long’s permanent successor.

“I expect that we will announce a search process soon,” he said.

Harvard Graduate Council Representative and HGSE master’s student Marc Claude said he has not yet been informed of a specific timeline or search process.

“I’m confident in the fact that there’s going to be some transparency and some inclusion in the way they will deal with the committee,” Claude added.

While the HGSE dean search process is just beginning, Garber has shown an early willingness to make major administrative appointments as interim dean.

In September 2023, outgoing Harvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf announced he would step down as dean at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. Seven months later, Garber offered the Kennedy School deanship to Jeremy M. Weinstein, a professor of political science at Stanford University.

Still, the delayed HGSE search timeline raises the likelihood that an interim dean will lead the school for the entirety of the fall semester, if not for the entire 2024-2025 academic year. Garber is also expected to name a faculty advisory committee to help select the next dean.

HGSE Academic Dean Martin West, a leading candidate to become interim dean, predicted in a February interview that the leadership turnover following former Harvard President Claudine Gay’s resignation would require HGSE to appoint an interim dean.

“Given the fact that we have an interim leader at the presidential level, we expect that the search process may take some time, and it is likely that we will have interim leadership as the search unfolds,” West said.

—Staff writer Emma H. Haidar contributed reporting.

—Staff writer Cam E. Kettles contributed reporting.

—Staff writer Katie B. Tian can be reached at [email protected] .

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Leveraging Your PhD: Why Employers Value Your Skills

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Guest post by Heer Joisher (Griffin GSAS Candidate in Developmental Biology) for MCS.

Harvard’s Mignone Center for Career Success recently hosted an insightful discussion spotlighting the remarkable journeys of a select group of GSAS alumni who have masterfully leveraged their Ph.D. degrees to forge unique and gratifying career paths. Their experiences not only illuminate the expansive landscape of career possibilities for graduate students but also stand as beacons of inspiration for Ph.D. students and recent graduates navigating their own professional journeys.  Here are some reflections I’ve summarized from the panel discussion on exploring non-academic career paths: the motivations, the timing, and the process.

Why? – A Multitude of Motivations

Dean Emma Dench’s opening remarks for the panel, noting that approximately 50% of Harvard PhDs become intellectual leaders outside academia, set the stage for a discussion on the motivations driving individuals to explore non-academic career paths. These motivations are as diverse as the individuals themselves, ranging from financial considerations to differing interpretations of job satisfaction and expectations.  Moreover, panelists emphasized the presence of abundant opportunities available beyond academia and the importance of gaining a comprehensive understanding of the broader professional landscape. Embracing this perspective involves stepping outside the traditional academic paradigms, challenging preconceptions about career paths dictated by one’s degree or department. Instead, it involves introspectively questioning what truly fosters personal fulfillment and utilizing one’s unique background and expertise to craft a career trajectory that aligns with individual aspirations.

When? – The Sooner, the Better

The panel collectively emphasized the importance of early exploration into non-academic career paths, highlighting the immense value in stepping beyond conventional trajectories and embracing diverse experiences. Their insight underscores that this journey isn’t solely about finding a different career path; it’s about broadening perspectives and building a vibrant professional community, irrespective of the ultimate career trajectory.   While transitioning out of academia may be smoother for some fields or labs compared to others, actively delving into learning about alternative career paths enables individuals to challenge norms and foster connections with mentors who can offer invaluable support along the way. The environment at Harvard, with its diverse peers and alumni network, facilitates this exploration and openness to new opportunities, acting as a catalyst for personal and professional growth.

How? – Navigating the Process

Drawing from their diverse career paths, the panelists offered valuable strategies and frameworks to guide individuals through the transition process. Each insight struck a chord with attendees, offering relatable anecdotes and invaluable guidance. Below is a compilation of key takeaways distilled from the discussion:

• Embrace Career Exploration and Experimentation:
• Explore diverse opportunities and pathways even if they seem unconventional or outside your comfort zone
• Recognize that your first job doesn’t have to be perfect, and that career progression often involves trying different roles and industries
• Utilize resources like alumni and LinkedIn to learn about different careers, and experiences
• Identify the transferable skills gained during your academic journey and identify your strengths. Introspect on how your strengths align with roles outside academia, consider doubling down on skills you excel in and enjoy.

• Cultivate Meaningful Professional Relationships:
• Approach networking with a mindset of curiosity and growth, fostering genuine relationships that support your career development.
• Articulate your accomplishments and expertise with confidence to bolster your credibility and draw opportunities towards you.
• Engage in informational interviews to gain valuable insights into various job responsibilities, organizational cultures, and career paths, allowing you to assess your fit within different professional contexts.
• Take a proactive approach to relationship-building by categorizing connections based on shared interests and goals. Remember, networking is a two-way street; look for opportunities to offer support, share insights, and connect others within your network.

• Invest in Your Professional Growth:
• View informational interviews, hands-on learning opportunities and internships as pivotal investments in shaping your future career path.
• Proactively seek out opportunities that foster continuous learning, cultivate enduring professional relationships, and steer your career in desired direction.
• Hone the art of articulation and effective communication to confidently convey your skills, experiences, and achievements, aligning them with the needs of different roles and organizations.
• Conquer decision paralysis by taking action: apply for open positions and initiate conversations with new connections. Embrace the interview process as an opportunity for growth and learning, gaining valuable insights along the way.

In conclusion, the panel discussion offered profound insights into navigating non-academic career paths. These key takeaways underscore the significance of charting one’s unique path with confidence and purpose in the dynamic landscape of non-academic careers.

Meet the Panelists:

• Elias Bruegmann, PhD : Head of Product Data Science at Stripe
• Victoria Tillson Evans, PhD : Founder & President of Distinctive College Consulting
• Marinna Madrid, PhD : Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Cellino
• Jessica Paige, PhD : Social Scientist at RAND
• Paul Schwerda, PhD : Investment Manager at Baillie Gifford
• Roger Vargas, PhD : Computational Scientist at Moderna

Quotes from Attendees:

“As an upper-level PhD student, the seminar provided valuable information and insights on careers outside of academia. It was great to hear from a diversity of people with different perspectives and who followed various career paths.” – Stephan Foianini, G5, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University

• What Can You Be with a PhD
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